Two South Africans attain world's top qualification

The other three non-US holders of the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designation are based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, said Jeff Gilmour, president of the Association of Residential Communities (ARC).

Kruger is the manager of Pecanwood Estate, which lies on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam in North West province, while Grobler manages Cedar Lakes Residential Estate in Fourways, on the north-west fringe of Joburg.

The PCAM designation, and the stepping-stone qualifications that lead up to it - Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) and Association Management Specialist (AMS) - are provided by the Community Associations Institute (CAI) of the USA (where 62 million Americans live in 315 000 managed gated communities).

Nucleus of a new national training initiative

"While they continue to manage their respective estates, Johan and Boet will help form the nucleus of a new national training initiative that will now provide, on home soil, the same curriculum to other South African estate managers who aspire to equally high levels of professional qualification," said Gilmour.

Gilmour will be co-managing the initiative under the umbrella of the Community Associations Institute of South Africa (CAISA) - the new South African Chapter of the CAI (and the only one outside of the US) - which was registered at the beginning of March 2013 in association with ARC.

"The CAISA training and education venture reinforces our dedication to improving the quality, effectiveness and professionalism of gated estate management throughout South Africa," Gilmour concluded.